


Haunt

by goodbyekiss



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Angst, Depression, F/F, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Haruno Sakura-centric, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Mystery, Paranormal, Self-Hatred, Slow Burn, Supernatural Elements, Uchiha Massacre, Uchiha Sasuke-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-09-17 19:15:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16980240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodbyekiss/pseuds/goodbyekiss
Summary: "Don't you feel," Sakura whispers, "like the city is rotting? We all watch the crows, while they just keep on watching you. I went on a walk with Naruto yesterday, and when he breathed on my hands, I felt no warmth. Kiba's dog is howling every night. Shizune has been missing for a week and when I knock on her door, Tsunade says nothing and simply sends me away. Where did your brother go, Sasuke?Where did your brother go?"





	1. Prologue

This fall, the crows know no rest.  
  
Sasuke pays them no mind. He hates the crows and he hates the sky. The night after it happened was the first time he saw them nest, their long wings ugly and torn black. The sight of them made him feel scared, stuck, trapped, and - for the first time - _hateful_. Soon after, he got used to it, looking at the birds with disinterest - though perhaps a dishonest one.  
  
And the crows seemed to know. The crows _always_ seemed to know.  
  
And today, Sasuke wakes up again. He lifts his head slightly, quietly observing the birds circle the city. It hurts. The clock says that it's 6 AM. Sasuke stands up and then crosses his room, moving slow, as if it was the hardest thing he has ever done. He takes his clothes off the bedroom chair and dresses up. 6 AM is a hellish time. At 6 AM, he remembers. At 6 AM he is alive, and at 6 AM, the crows are crying.

As he walks out of the front door, the crows keep watching. Sasuke leaves his house open, not bothering to lock the gate. He doesn't care about the property, and everyone else avoids the building like plague. He knows why. His home is cursed by blood soaked in the soft wooden floor inside, by blood curling along the staircase, by blood silently _drip-drip-dripping_ down the kitchen sink, still being washed down to the sewers of the city.  
  
God, how he hates the crows; how he hates the fucking city.  
  
He watches the birds settle in the trees as he crosses the streets. The branches are bare and sharp, pointing up towards the sky; several pairs of old, dry hands. When the wind blows, the crows caw loudly and hold on tight. Sasuke doesn't mind the wind. He wonders whether the wind wishes the crows any harm. He decides he doesn't care.  
  
He doesn't care.  
  
He arrives at 6:52. He's relieved, because the school, unlike the crows, is still sleeping. He likes to come in very early, way ahead of his classmates - Sasuke hates his home. The school is Safe. It holds no memories. He could walk from the entrance to the lockers even if he was blind and he wouldn't get hurt. And the crows are locked out too, trapped behind the steel bars covering the windows. He is all alone. The school is Safe. He doesn't need to think.  
  
That's how it always goes anyway. Sasuke has no reason to expect anything else than the usual. But he's wrong today: when he takes a sharp turn to his locker, there really is someone there, someone...who is laying on the changing bench, limbs clumsily leaning against the floor. The person's outline is strange, somehow smudged in the dim light of the morning dusk. Sasuke frowns and blinks, trying to clear his vision and concentrate. When he fails, he reluctantly comes closer, leans over the body, and accidentally locks eyes with an unmoving, unblinking stare.  
  
His keys slip inbetween his stiff fingers, and the room around him slowly goes blurry. He presses his right palm against his forehead, eyes glued to the broken body in front of him. When he backs off, slamming his shoulders against the locker door, he's surprised to find out that his legs didn't give out yet. For a while he keeps still, holding onto the cold metal, breathing and _catching his breath_ and breathing.  
  
The crows are silent, and so is Sasuke, and so is the body. The person is dead. He knew right away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello,  
> so very sorry to suddenly dissapear on you guys. I promised I won't stop writing, but I've recently been hospitalized and have been dealing with a lot of painful stuff since. I'm back on track now though. Anyway, I hope this isn't too edgy or heavy for the Naruto fandom. I'll make sure to reply to all the past comments made on my previous posts and I'll be thankful for any and all feedback. Please be safe always.
> 
> I really do have a passion for naming my works with words starting on letter H, eh?


	2. SAKURA I.

Sakura gets discharged from the hospital in the strangest, most unofficial, most illegal way possible.  
  
"Um," she says weakly, watching Tsunade tear the drip out of her arm, "what is going on?"  
  
"Shizune is gone," Tsunade hisses through her clenched teeth. She's fuming (and it's _six in the morning_ ), yet she somehow looks as fresh and beautiful as always. "My head fucking nurse got sick overnight and now I'm left alone to supervise whole wing, knee-deep in this mess. Out of ten nurses who make up my staff, eight are interns. _Eight!_ "  
  
"Shizune is sick? But she looked well just yesterday."  
  
Tsunade doesn't seem to listen. "Look, Sakura, honey, I need you out. You've been healthy and stable for the last two weeks and I can't afford to monitor so many patients right now. The fewer people in here, the less work we have. So - it's time for you to go. Aww, why the long face? You should be excited."  
  
"Um," Sakura repeats, "I'm pretty sure that's against the rules."  
  
"Don't you worry about that," Tsunade retorts, bandaging Sakura's arm. "Give me your bracelet. Here's your medical report. I'll see you around, yeah? Talk to me about your check-up later. You have half an hour to get your stuff and leave. And when you get home, don't try to work out or something, you still need rest. Understood?"  
  
And with that, Sakura is booted out.  
  
It's strange to step outside after such a long time spent bed-bound. The city is as cold and silent as she thought it would be. Sakura wishes she could get used to it, but it's hard - to her, the city seems even more ugly now that she spent a few months safe, locked behind the hospital walls. She shivers and thinks about going home, but decides against it. The outlook of spending the whole day alone doesn't seem very pleasant to her. But then - what else can she do? Her parents won't be back anytime soon and she doesn't have any friends other than Shizune. Maybe she should pay her a visit? Or is that... outside of Shizune's boundaries?  
  
_Just go to school,_ a voice says.  
  
Sakura scratches her head and stares at a window nearby, observing her reflection. She still looks half-asleep, her face a mess and her coat not buttoned up properly. The reflection shrugs at her, ruffling its hair, and points towards a tree-lined alley. _There are no crows,_ it mouths. _It has been so long since there were no crows, don't you think? Go to school. Something doesn't quite add up today - and you've missed out on so much._  
  
It's been a while since her reflection talked to her. She's surprisingly okay with it returning, though; it feels like reuniting with an old friend. She smiles weakly and the reflection smiles back. "Okay," Sakura mouths. She turns around to leave but pulls up short almost immediately. "Gosh, sorry, so rude of me. Um... How have you been?"  
  
The reflection's smile widens, eyes twinkling. _Better than you,_ it replies, _though that isn't saying much, is it?_

* * *

  
  
"Can you finally tell me what happened?"  
  
"Fuck, watch your step!"  
  
Sakura shuts the locker door, stretching her neck. Her belongings - the ones she hurriedly collected from her hospital room - proved to be surprisingly heavy to carry. _Apparently, the school tends to be very lively at 7 AM,_ she thinks, and goes in the direction of the voices. When she walks past a window, she tries to catch the sight of her reflection, but the glass is too stained to reflect anything at all.  
  
As it turns out, the voices belong to two teenage boys approximately her age. She blinks, wondering if they used to be her classmates in the past. They could have. Unfortunately, she doesn't remember anything from the time she has last been to school. She comes closer, still unnoticed by the bickering pair, and it takes her a few more confused blinks to notice that the shorter blonde boy is covered in blood and heavily bruised.  
  
"Gosh," Sakura yelps, "did you two get into a fight?"  
  
Both boys immediately turn their attention to her.  
  
"What are you doing here?" the taller one snaps, and suddenly, unexpectedly, Sakura remembers his name. She examines him closely, trying to rule out the possibility of a mistake. It really is him though. She concludes that he's angry, but not injured: she was wrong, then; it's unlikely that they fought. "Who are you?"  
  
"Hi Sasuke," Sakura replies calmly. "I'm Sakura. You probably forgot me. I was discharged from a hospital just an hour ago, and I decided to come to school right away."  
  
Sasuke seems to sulk at the sound of his own name, but the blonde boy beams, grinning with his broken lips.  
  
"Don't worry about it, Sakura," he says, "Sasuke didn't remember me either, can you imagine? Anyway - welcome back! I tried to visit you like fifty times, but I always got sent away."  
  
"Hello," Sakura blushes. "Um, is that so? That's really nice of you. Sorry... I remember Sasuke, but it seems I forgot... you. Did we use to be friends?"  
  
The boy's grin falters. "Hey," he whines. "That's so fucking unfair. Why does everyone remember Sasuke, but never me?"  
  
"Maybe because you're really exhausting to think about, let alone to be near to," Sasuke snaps.  
  
"God, shut up! You're the one to talk!"  
  
Sakura eyes Sasuke curiously. As far as she remembers, this is the first time she has ever heard him speak. He always fascinated her in a way, but she never got the chance to know him better. Nobody had. Nobody had actually tried, though: there is something wrong with Sasuke, the way the crows always seem to follow him wherever he goes, the way he faintly feels like death. Still, Sakura doesn't mind. She herself was never the one to look away from gore: after all, there is a reason why Sakura has more medical knowledge at age 16 than most graduated nurses.  
  
Oh!  
  
"Sorry," she calls to the blonde boy, "um, you seem injured. Are you okay? Because you don't look okay. Um, I don't think you should be walking."  
  
And it is so: the boy seems to be barely standing, heavily leaning on Sasuke for balance. As soon as Sasuke hears Sakura speak, he pales and carefully slides the boy to the floor.  
  
"I was trying to take him to the nurse's office," Sasuke explains quietly, "but I just realized that there's no way she would be here so early in the morning."  
  
"It's okay," Sakura assures and kneels down in front of the boy. She quickly takes off his jacket, the boy wiggling, and examines his torso. Just as she expected, he's bruised all over. It's not a pleasant sight. There's something very odd about the bruises, though; they're yellow - as if they were a few days old.  
  
"Are you being abused at home?" Sakura asks, running her hands over his limbs. The severity of the bruising indicates a fracture or two at least, but she's surprised to find all his bones intact, all his joints working perfectly and all his ligaments in perfect health.  
  
The boy scratches at his cheeks, clearly embarrassed. "No," he says, voice somber, "my parents are dead. I live alone."  
  
Sasuke stays silent. Sakura looks up, wondering if he's even still here, but when she looks up to see, his eyes meet hers.  
  
"You know what you're doing," he says. It's not a compliment, just a statement. Sakura nods.  
  
"Are his ankles broken? He couldn't stand on his own when I picked him up. Said it hurts."  
  
Sakura frowns and feels his legs again. "No. They're absolutely alright. Did you find him unconscious? He was probably numb and stiff from laying in an uncomfortable position."  
  
When she reaches to touch them for the third time, the boy squirms away from her and successfully stands up. "Alright, Sakura, oof! I mean, thanks a lot for the concern, you're very nice, but I'm alright, really. I just ran into a couple of dudes and we had a disagreement. We solved it with fists. Happens all the time."  
  
"All the time?" Sakura asks, frowning. "Are you perhaps being bullied?"  
  
"God, no! It's nothing like that. Just let it be, Sakura, please."  
  
For a second, Sasuke's expression darkens. "You fought? Outside, I assume? How did you end up back in school then?"  
  
The boy throws his arms up in frustration. "Fuck, I don't know! I don't remember anything! Just the fight. You two and your questions, I swear."  
  
"Okay," Sakura chuckles, standing up. "You certainly do look lively. If you say you feel well, there's nothing more I can do. Just promise me you'll see the nurse later when she arrives. What class are you from anyway?"  
  
The boy looks distraught, pointing his index fingers both at Sakura and Sasuke. "Same as you two," he says. "Yo, I can't believe neither of you remembers me. It's not as if I never talk or anything."  
  
Sakura simply shrugs. "I don't remember a lot of things," she says honestly. "Nice to meet you again, then. What's your name?"  
  
"Me?" the boy asks, clearly delighted, his bloodied face smiling widely. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sakura's chapters will be lighter at first.
> 
> Have good holidays, everyone!


	3. SASUKE I.

He's not sure why, but they keep following him.  
  
At first, Sasuke thinks, _alright, we're going to the same classroom. Of course they would be following me if we're taking the same route._  
  
That makes sense. But then it doesn't, because they keep trailing after him even after he takes a seat at his desk. And when he tries to slip away to buy a coffee in the cafeteria. To check the cleaning schedule for the week. To go to the bathroom.  
  
"Can you stop stalking me?" he barks out harshly. Sakura blinks in confusion, stopping in her tracks and staring at him, curious. He glares at her because he hates the way she looks at him, so calm and puzzled, with a child-like wonder.  
  
~~What the fuck did they do to you at the hospital?~~  
  
"Sorry, Sasuke. I thought you guys will show me around the school a little since I've forgotten. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."  
  
She turns around to leave, tugging on Naruto's sleeve slightly. It seems she grew fond of him quickly, and that the feeling is mutual. Naruto doesn't budge, though, reaching out and grabbing Sasuke's shoulder instead.  
  
Sasuke flinches. If the crows saw, they would've laughed.  
  
"Hey," Naruto breathes, leaning in way too much into his personal space. Sasuke tries not to stare, but from up close, the scars on his cheeks look just like whiskers. "Why are you so grumpy, Sasuke? Today is such a nice day. Wasn't this really sweet? You guys teamed up to save me, Sakura was all like fracture this and bruising that - like a real doctor and  - it was like from a movie!"  
  
_You were fucking dead._  
  
"It must be fate. Definitely! We have to stick together. We're, you know, mates now."  
  
_You didn't breathe when I found you._  
  
"And since Sakura forgot stuff and could easily get lost around here, why not help her out?"  
  
~~She has to stay that way. She must not remember.~~  
  
 "Oi. Sasuke? Sasuke!"  
  
Sasuke shakes Naruto's hand off him, backing off. "Don't touch me," he says, voice bland and hoarse. "And don't follow me again."  
  
Something flashes across Naruto's face, something shifts in Sakura's bright green eyes, but Sasuke does not see it. He doesn't. He turns around and leaves them there. That is that.

* * *

  
The counseling he attends? It's a joke.  
  
A waste of everyone's time and resources, to be more exact. Well, at first, it has been some good; Iruka, his middle school counselor, was a genuinely kind person who has tried his best. He spent countless hours talking to Sasuke, gently nudging him in the direction deemed right, going on and on about _healing_ and _hope_ and _growth_ , desperately trying to build up a foundation to get Sasuke to speak. It was useless, of course. Sasuke has been dead silent ever since that night, refusing to talk to anyone and avoiding anything living as much as he could.  
  
But still, for some unfathomable reason, Iruka liked him. He remembered every single one of Sasuke's birthdays and he never got angry or upset, even though he did seem sad about him sometimes. Iruka was always respectful and he never asked about his family. Their relationship felt comforting in a strange, distant way, even though Sasuke would never admit that out loud.  
  
That's in the past though. In high school, he got a different counselor. And, well. He is _very_ unlike the good-natured Iruka he used to know.  
  
When he met Sasuke at their very first therapy session, he _cursed_ , stood up, knocking the chair over, and stormed out of the office. He returned half an hour later, and since then, he has never spoken to Sasuke again. Sasuke still came to all assigned appointments and Kakashi let him in every time, but they never did any actual work; their counseling hours were spent on Sasuke blankly staring out of the window and Kakashi finishing what seemed to be leftover paperwork.  
  
They ignored each other completely.  
  
That wasn't the truth.  
  
Sasuke knew the feeling of being watched all too well, and so it didn't take him long to realize that Kakashi was observing him the whole time. Sasuke didn't care enough to figure out what kind of a shrink strategy was that supposed to be. To him, Kakashi was like the crows, and therefore, Sasuke hated him just like he hated them.  
  
"Sakura is back."  
  
Sasuke slowly moves his gaze to meet Kakashi's only visible eye. He wonders about two things: why did Kakashi suddenly choose to talk, and why were his first words to Sasuke so meaningless and irrelevant. He wonders why should he care about something like that at all, but out loud he says nothing. Kakashi is studying him closely now, not bothering to mask his heavy stare anymore. Sasuke looks away, out of the window - the crows are still there, of course, and they look back. Their stares are just as heavy as Kakashi's is.  
  
"I overheard you speaking to her earlier today. You were very rude."  
  
So Kakashi has actually seen him talk. He feels a slight pang of irritation at the fact because, for some reason, it makes him feel extremely vulnerable.  
  
"Old habits die hard, eh?"  
  
Sasuke barely stops himself from shooting Kakashi an annoyed glare. _What is_ that _supposed to mean?_ Kakashi tilts his head, his only visible eye narrowing slightly, as if he was smiling.  
  
The hour is up. Sasuke stands up from the chair and leaves the room.

* * *

  
Besides the usual, which is crows, there is someone else waiting for him outside the school gates. Sasuke barely suppresses a groan when he recognizes the menacing figure dressed up in flashy sports gear. Of course it's Naruto, who else could it possibly be. _Of course._  
  
"What do you want," Sasuke hisses. At first, he tries to ignore Naruto and pass him by as fast as possible, but they lock eyes by accident. When that happens, ignoring Naruto is not possible anymore. Naruto's eyes are blue and warm, and his sclera, which was bloodshot just this morning, is now clear and bright, at a stark contrast at his dark complexion.  
  
They are sharp, his eyes, but they somehow manage to stay very kind.  
  
"Nothing," Naruto says. He's frowning as if he doesn't understand himself either. Sasuke buries his hands in his pockets, suddenly very aware of the crows nesting on the nearby tree. God, he wants to leave.  
  
"I don't know what are you trying to do, but I suggest you stop," Sasuke says. "This morning, I just did what anyone would do, and if you think that it meant something, I don't know, more, you're very wrong." _You were dead_." We were never close and we never will be." _You were dead when I found you._  
  
Naruto grabs him again and Sasuke shoots him a mean, _mean_ glare.  
  
"I told you not to touch me."  
  
"Sorry," Naruto breathes out, but he's not letting go. His touch is heavy, yet not threatening; at least for now, anyway. Sasuke holds Naruto's gaze, refusing to back off.  
  
"Seriously, what is wrong with you?"  
  
Sasuke tries to yank his arm away, but Naruto keeps on holding. He seems lost in his thoughts, failing to notice Sasuke struggling against him.  
  
 "I," he starts and then cuts himself short. "Listen, Sasuke, how come you don't remember me even though we were in the same class for the last ten years?"  
  
Something in Sasuke's chest slowly turns cold and heavy. He tries to pull his hand free once again, but Naruto is not letting go. We were in the same class for the last ten years. "We... what? I don't know. I don't care. I guess we just - fuck, let _go_ \- didn't notice each other or something."  
  
"Bullshit," Naruto spits out. With his free hand, he fishes around in his right pocket, digging out a crumpled piece of paper. "Look. The nurse sent me home for the day after she checked me out, so I had free time to fuck around. Something didn't sit right with me the whole time - I mean, you didn't fucking recognize me, and even if you really are just a stuck up asshole who doesn't give a shit about anyone but himself, it's too weird that you didn't recall someone you've been sitting next to for the last two years. At first, I had a good laugh about how stupid you are, but well, you're not. I know you're not fucking stupid. It kept on bothering me, so I dug up all of my yearbooks, and I shit you not, we're standing next to each other in every single one I found."  
  
Sasuke freezes. Eventually, he reaches out and slowly takes out the paper out of Naruto's hand, because he doesn't know what else is he supposed to do.  
  
It's an old, worn-out photograph.  
  
"I can show you all of them if you don't believe me. But I didn't feel like carrying a whole suitcase of old ass paper with me, so I took just one. It's not a picture of the full class, but that shouldn't matter, I think. Check the date out. But don't freak out, ok?"  
  
There are four people in the photo. One of them he instantly recognizes as himself: he's pouting slightly, his head turned to the right, watching something outside the picture frame. His hands are folded on his chest. The second person is, of course, Naruto. There's a huge grin plastered all over his face. He seems to be reaching for the girl standing between them, the girl with the bright pink hair and shiny green eyes, the girl who's giving Sasuke a bashful glance, the girl who _just got released from the hospital an hour ago and came to school right away._   Behind them, a man stands tall, a man with grey hair and tired eyes, face covered by something closely resembling a ski mask. _Old habits die hard, eh?_  
  
The photograph is dated six years ago.  
  
When Naruto finally lets go of Sasuke's arm, Sasuke wishes he hadn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this during my flight, so sorry for mistakes n typos - editing on mobile is a pain. I'm not sure about my pacing either, because this is my first time seriously engaging in a multi-chapter story.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	4. SASUKE II.

"Whoa. Watch it - hey!"  
  
And just like that, Naruto somehow manages to catch him on time, before he stumbles onto the ground. Sasuke grits his teeth and closes his eyes, trying to will the sharp sting of a headache away and cursing under his breath; it always, _always_ comes at sudden times like this, when he's weak and empty and unsafe. He chokes on a groan. _Fuck!_  
  
"Sasuke? Sasuke!"  
  
The sheer agony of the pain is overwhelming, and Naruto's voice is making it a million times worse, cutting through Sasuke's nerves like a knife. He tries to say something but fails, digging his fingers into Naruto's shoulders instead, desperately hoping he'll understand. And surprisingly, shockingly, he actually does - whispers something - and then he throws Sasuke's arm over his own shoulders, grabbing onto Sasuke's side, and leading him forward.  
  
_Fuck!_  
  
Sasuke tries to keep his eyes closed, because even dull daylight makes him want to die. Breathing is hard. Thinking is even harder. For once that's a good thing, though - the thought of declining Naruto's help doesn't even cross his mind. He doesn't question where does Naruto lead him, but it's a long way, and they only stop twice: once when Sasuke needs to vomit, and then when they finally arrive home.  
  
Of course, Sasuke doesn't actually know that it's Naruto's home. He can't complain, though, mostly because he's physically unable to. Naruto gives Sasuke painkillers which he has to dry-swallow ( _I'm so fucking sorry, my water was cut off again--_ ) and he gets to pass out on something soft and unfamiliar. As he dozes off, he hears the crows cry, their voices echoing his own thoughts. _Shut up_ , he asks, demands, but they don't listen, still screaming and screaming, coming closer, their dark wings disturbing the air, their claws aiming for his head, for his face, for his eyes, go for the _eyes_ \--  
  
He wakes up violently and in cold sweat. He calms down quickly, though, because, at this point, he's more than used to it.  
  
Naruto is there. He's on his phone, headphones on, his back leaning against the bed Sasuke is laying on. The room is dark, illuminated only by the phone's display, so Sasuke squints, trying to make out the details of the place. It's surprisingly tidy and boring, the furniture bland and bare, all of the surfaces uncluttered. No decorations, nothing hanging on the walls. The windows don't have curtains, only blinds. Sasuke's gaze eventually shifts to Naruto himself, who looks strangely out of place, not belonging to the dull room - nearly staining it with his restless energy.  
  
"Is this where you live?"  
  
Naruto jerks, tearing the headphones out of his ears and stumbling to look at him, his bright eyes almost glowing in the dark. Sasuke can't help but feel smugly satisfied with himself; he sits up but is forced to stop midway, because his vision flicks and promptly blurs.  
  
"Um," Naruto stammers, "yeah. Yeah! You feeling alright now? I got us food."  
  
Sasuke looks down and blinks at a glass of water sitting at a bedside table nearby.  
  
"Right! I also bought juice and some soda. I'll go get it."  
  
"No, water is alright." They fall silent for a while, awkwardly staring at each other. "Thanks."  
  
Naruto's lips slowly widen into the broadest grin Sasuke has yet seen on him. "Did you just thank me?"  
  
"Fuck off."  
  
But Naruto easily laughs him off, rubbing his forehead. "Oh my god!"  
  
Sasuke glares at him. Naruto looks relaxed and comfortable, surprisingly so, considering he has a complete stranger in his bedroom. He catches Sasuke staring at him, so he lifts his brows, looking expectant yet welcoming and warm, and for a reason unknown, something about all of this hurts.  
  
"My mother raised me well," Sasuke snaps, suddenly, unexpectedly, even though he doesn't really want to, "and she didn't forget to teach me how to express gratitude."  
  
A crow shuffles behind the blinds, and then it disappears. Naruto's laugh cuts itself short. Sasuke's heart sinks hard, and he clenches his fingers around the now empty glass, hoping it will break and cut him open.  
  
_My parents are dead. I live alone._  
  
"I'm sorry," Sasuke rasps. He rises up, ignoring the ringing in his ears. Naruto isn't looking at him, but he doesn't notice that, because it doesn't matter. "I'll... see myself out."  
  
And of course, the sound of Naruto's laughter catches him by surprise; the easiness of it, the forgiving undertone, the way it allows Sasuke to let out a strained breath. "Nah, fuck that," Naruto says as he stands up from the bedroom floor, stretching his arms. "Oof! Come. I already got food for you - and I'm not gonna let it go to waste."  
  
Sasuke stares at Naruto's broad back, unmoving. Eventually, he sets the glass back down on the bedside table and tails him, feeling perplexed to his very core, but somehow still not enough to ask further questions. When Naruto opens a cupboard, Sasuke silently slides to a chair, carefully leaning his elbows on the table. The kitchen furniture is just as simple as the bedroom one, holding no apparent identity or evident style. The table is way too big for one person, and there are too many unmatching chairs around it, each one a different color and shape.  
  
"That was really fucked up," Sasuke finally says. He means it.  
  
"What exactly?" Naruto's searching for something with his head inside the fridge, so his voice comes out muffled.  
  
"What I said before. That was really fucked up."  
  
"I mean, yeah," Naruto says easily, "but it's even more fucked up than you think. You see," he continues, pouring milk into two plain-looking cups, "my parents didn't even raise me, but! _You_ couldn't know that. So while it was fucked up of you to mention parents at all - since it's a pretty meh topic for both of us - it was even more fucked up 'cause unlike you, I never got to know them. Therefore: it's more fucked up than you think, but that actually makes it less fucked up. Ya get me?"  
  
"Not at all," Sasuke replies. The blinds are closed and he's thankful for that. For some awful reason, he feels like the crows know that Naruto grew up alone, and he doesn't like it. It actually makes him uncomfortable in several different ways, but he doesn't get to dwell on that for too long. Naruto snaps him out of it by setting down their meal with a ceramic clack: two cups of milk, and two steaming cups made of plastic.  
  
"This is instant ramen," Sasuke states. Naruto beams.  
  
"Yeah," he sighs in a voice full of adoration.  
  
"You didn't want to waste a cup of instant ramen on me."  
  
"Well, yeah!"  
  
"Are you... are you aware that you could've eaten it anytime later yourself? This type of food has almost infinite shelf-life."  
  
Naruto blinks, confused. "But Sasuke," he says heartfeltly, tears almost welling up in his eyes, "I got it for _you_."  
  
Speechless, Sasuke stares at him. Naruto seems to think of that as of acceptance, so he smiles and sits down in front of Sasuke, digging into his own portion. Sasuke keeps observing him for a little while, but eventually, he takes a bite of noodles as well: he's not sure whether it's the shock or the fact that he hasn't eaten the whole day, but it tastes surprisingly good.  
  
"I put fresh vegetables into that," Naruto speaks up, almost as if he heard Sasuke's thoughts. "Man, I love this shit so much."  
  
They're done with the food quite quickly. Naruto puts the empty cups into the sink and turns on the tap, clicking his tongue when no water comes out. "Forgot about that," he smiles to himself. Sasuke doesn't say anything, looking for a garbage bin instead, hoping to throw out the empty ramen cups. When they're finished, they retreat back to Naruto's bedroom and Sasuke begins to think about leaving.  
  
He doesn't want to.  
  
It's terribly easy to admit, and even the crows aren't there to stop him. _He doesn't want to._  
  
When Naruto briefly leaves the room, shadowing to the bathroom, Sasuke closes his eyes, and he lets it sink in at least a little. Everything about Naruto hurts - the thought of his lifeless body; the crumpled photograph. The way they seem to get along, both behaving like old friends. The way this apartment feels like a very distant deja vu. But this everything overwhelms him, drowning him in a bittersweet feeling he can not explain. His mind is hazy, filling out the blanks before he himself can register it, and he's confused, tired, aching. And in the middle of it all is he, and Sasuke hates it, because--  
  
_You were dead when I found you._  
  
What happened six years ago?  
  
He doesn't know. He can't remember. He never could, but it didn't seem strange at the time. After that night, everything was a blur. He always thought it's the grief - he never wondered why. He does now, but he wishes he didn't. The numbness did feel comforting somehow, and now... things will never be the same.  
  
Naruto comes back, opening the bedroom door with a gentle kick. He's carrying a huge box in his hands. When he settles it down with a huff, Sasuke thinks he sees a black feather sticking out of the opening. It's gone when he blinks though.  
  
"These are the photos," Naruto says. "Eh, damn. I just realized that I maybe shouldn't show them to you if you had such a bad response to the one I gave you before."  
  
Naruto sits down, crossing his legs, and looks at Sasuke, expression thoughtful. Sasuke averts his eyes. He can't explain his headaches, nor he wants to, and somehow, he is convinced that Naruto knows. He briefly thinks back to the moment when he found Naruto on the bench, eyes bloodshot and dead. Maybe Naruto doesn't press it because he's been through the similar. Perhaps they will talk about it eventually; it might be that they aren't ready yet.  
  
"This is insane," Sasuke notes softly. He raises his hand and traces it over the edge of the box, dust collecting on his fingertips. "Maybe we're just hallucinating. Maybe I've finally gone crazy."  
  
Naruto hums, brows furrowed. "I feel really confused about all of this," he admits. "I first realized it with Sakura, actually. When we saw her. I just... I knew that I tried to visit her when she was at the hospital, you know, but! I didn't remember why was I friends with her or why has she even gone there. I couldn't find anything in our chat history, because it looked like she deleted all of her accounts, and we didn't have any texts sent."  
  
"Yes," Sasuke says, "I don't remember anyone from our class talking about her, either. Though I don't get involved in talks, so it might not count. But the teachers didn't say anything about her either, as far as I know." He falls silent, thinking about the polite, passive way Sakura looked at him. "We should look into the class books."  
  
"Wow, Sasuke, when you're not busy being a stuck up jerk, you actually get some damn good ideas!"  
  
"Shut up. It's not my fault you're dumb as a rock, and that I have to do all the thinking here."  
  
Naruto snorts and reaches for the box, blowing some of the dust right into Sasuke's face. Sasuke lunges for him, but Naruto scoots away, cackling with laughter and climbing onto his bed. "Go on, bastard," he says, "open the damn box."  
  
Sasuke's hand shakes a little when he reaches out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was hoping to make this chapter even longer, but hey ;_;


	5. SAKURA II.

Sakura sighs and flops on her bed, lifting her legs against the wall.  
  
She's bored, even though she doesn't have the right to be. There's a stash of homework resting on her desk, untouched, and she still hasn't unpacked all the stuff she brought from the hospital. She hasn't done much studying lately, so she has a lot to catch up. It doesn't worry her much, though; Sakura has always been an extraordinary student.  
  
She rolls over to her stomach, reaching for one of her medical textbooks, and flips to her latest bookmark: chapter 11, the second page of the anatomy of the lower leg bones. She traces her finger over one of the illustrations, absentmindly counting the arteries. The human skeleton isn't as fun as the fibular system was, but unfortunately, she can't choose to gloss over the places she doesn't like.  
  
("You're going to be a doctor," Tsunade said.  
  
For some reason, Sakura imagined that Tsunade told her patients they're expecting a child in the same manner. _You're going to be a parent!_ They probably reacted in a different way than Sakura, though. Obviously. Unlike Sakura, they also had a _choice_.)  
  
Her finger stops at the bottom part of the picture. She squints a little, and then she sits up, the book carefully balanced on her left knee. Her room is dark, but she's too lazy to turn on her lights. The desk lamp will have to do.  
  
Idly, she wonders about how Naruto is doing. She's glad she made friends with him, especially on her very first day of school, but something about him doesn't sit right. What exactly? Closing her eyes, she tries to concentrate, to _remember_ \- and like many times before, she fails. She's too used to it to be disappointed. So instead, she thinks back to a more recent time, when she leaned over him bleeding and hurt, sitting on the floor.  
  
(Those bruises looked as if they were a few days old. Could've been from a previous fight; Naruto picks them often, apparently.  
  
Were his ankles broken? No. Just numb and stiff from laying.  
  
_You know that's not it,_ her reflection says. _Oh, and - welcome home!_ )  
  
Sakura jumps up, turning to the window where the reflection stands, smiling apologetically. It's holding its own book, and the text is mirrored upside down.  
  
"Whew," Sakura breathes out. "You really scared me there."  
  
_Sorry, sorry!_  
  
"It's okay, just don't do that next time. Oof! Anyway, why don't you think that Naruto is okay?"  
  
_I think he is. Not the way he might seem, though. You glossed over an important detail._  
  
"And that is?"  
  
The reflection hums. _His skin was really cold when you touched him._  
  
Sakura fidgets with the corner of the page, frowning. "Is that an important detail? Really? Gosh, well. Shock, the aftermath of a faint, a chill - all possible reasons for low body temperature."  
  
The reflection tilts its head.  
  
_Low like that?_  
  
Sakura sighs and closes the book. "Look, I don't know; I don't remember. What are you getting at? Why does something like that matter at all? Are you the one planting all of these... thoughts about Naruto in my head? Overthinking really wears me out, so I would like you to stop it, please."  
  
The reflection watches her for a while, unblinking. When it speaks again, it sounds a little sad.  
  
_Sakura, I'm not making you do anything. I am_ you _. I don't know anything you don't know, and I don't think anything you don't think._ For a moment it hesitates. _Look, isn't it strange that you remember so little?_  
  
"I," Sakura says and stops. "I guess it is. Yes. Of course. It is."  
  
She waits for the reflection to reply, but it doesn't - gone back to static, it seems. The clock clicks quietly, showing half past ten; it's time to go to sleep. Instead, Sakura gets up and moves over to the desk.  
  
_Isn't it strange that you remember so little?_  
  
For a few moments she thinks, but then she reaches underneath the surface of the table, opening a drawer. She shuffles through a pile of old notebooks until she finds a blank one, unwritten in. After some more thinking, she sits down, hesitantly twirling a pen in her hand.  
  
Finally, she records a date.  
  
_Today I've gone to school for the first time in four months,_ she writes. _The reflection came back. I think it repeats my own words a lot, but tries to give them a different meaning. That makes sense, though, since it insists it's me. I also made a new friend..._

 

* * *

  
  
She really shouldn't be spacing out this soon; the first class didn't even start yet. Sakura hides a yawn and curiously glances to her left: it seems she chose a seat right next to Sasuke, who nods at her when he catches her looking. She nods back, smiling.  
  
"Hi," she says. "How are you?"  
  
"Fine," he answers. His voice is quiet and his reply emotionless, but it's enough for her. She nods again and turns her attention elsewhere.  
  
During the next break, when Sakura goes to check the bulletin in the hallway, a voice calls out to her just before she enters the classroom.  
  
"You're talking to Sasuke."  
  
Sakura blinks and looks up, surprised. A tall blonde girl is leaning against the doorframe, her pale blue eyes studying Sakura's face. As far as Sakura is aware, they're not acquainted, but who knows. Sakura seems to be wrong about these kinds of things quite often.  
  
"Yes," she replies. "Why wouldn't I?"  
  
The girl's expression shifts, but she regains her composure quickly. "Right. You don't remember. We um, both had a crush on him when we were kids. So it's a little weird to see you chatting him up so casually."  
  
"A crush?" Sakura repeats, watching Sasuke through the open door. He's still at his desk, looking out of the window, and even from the back, he seems very tired. It looks like the whole class is ignoring him as always - except for Naruto, who came in late today. He's currently trying to snatch some of Sasuke's notes for the class he missed; to no avail, of course.  
  
"He doesn't seem like a person I would crush on," Sakura concludes. She looks up at the girl again, admiring her delicate features. "You, on the other hand, are a strong contender."  
  
Both girls pause in shock. The bell rings. A boy with long hair and dull eyes passes them by, not sparing them a glance.  
  
"Wow," the girl says.  
  
"Yeah, uh," Sakura replies awkwardly, "I'm sorry. I really, really, _really_ should think before I speak."  
  
The girl holds her hand against her mouth and laughs and laughs and _laughs_ , her shoulders shaking slightly. "Oh my god!" she chokes out. "Oh my god, you're _unbelievable_."  
  
She pulls Sakura into a tight hug, hands wrapped against Sakura's waist. "I missed you," she hums lovingly. "You don't have any idea. Sakura - my name is Ino, and I used to be your best friend."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing fanfiction is good for my soul but bad for my academics!


End file.
